Asprilla's 3-Point Play Rallies Titans over UCR

CSF Sports Information

01/07/2005

Hardy Asprilla's 3-point play with 51 seconds to play Thursday night carried Cal State Fullerton to a 74-71 Big West Conference victory over visiting UC Riverside.

Guard Bobby Brown scored 23 points to lead the Titans, who are now 6-4 overall
and 2-1 in the Big West. Vili Morton had 20 points and Klaus Schille added a
career-high 11 for the Highlanders, who lost their fourth consecutive game to
fall to 4-7, 0-3.

Hardy Asprilla grabbed his career-high 16th rebound off a missed shot by Bobby Brown
and threw in a desperation bank shot while being fouled and tumbling to the
floor. His free throw gave him his 12th and final point and gave Fullerton a
70-68 lead.

Bobby Brown and Jamaal Brown each hit a pair of free throws in the final 13
seconds for the Titans to offset a 3-point basket with 6 seconds left by Justin Bell, who would miss a potential game-tying trey at the buzzer.

The Highlanders took their only lead of the game at 68-67 on a Vili Morton bank
shot with 1:10 to play, capping an 8-0 UCR run that erased a 67-60 Fullerton
advantage. Morton finished with a team-high 10 rebounds on a night when he
scored his 1,000th point, the 11th UCR player to accomplish the feat but the
first at the Div. I level.

Ralphy Holmes had 15 points for the Titans before fouling out with 3:17 to play.
Jamaal Brown added 12 rebounds and 15 points but made only 5 of 20 shots.
Fullerton led by as many as 9 points in the second half at 61-52 with 6:58 to
play and by 10 at 34-24 late in the first half, which ended with the Titans
ahead, 34-30.

The game was won at the foul line as Fullerton hit 19 of 23 compared to 15 of 26
by the highlanders. The Titans outrebunded UCR, 56-34, including 21 offensive
rebounds to offset 37 percent shooting from the floor.

Both Fullerton and UCR take a break from Big West play this weekend to host UC
Davis, a future Big West opponent. The Titans play the Aggies Saturday night and
UCR hosts them on Monday night.